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Having looked over my stories of late, I appear to have developed some very strong and not particularly good idiosyncracies in my writing.
So, I'd just like to ask you guys what you think about some of these style aspects:
A direct beginning-
Without even knowing it, I seem to have naturally started using direct beginnings. Ie. the first sentence of each story is a piece of dialog that appears to be from the middle of a conversation, or a line from a story which all ready seems to have started as if the first few pages were missing.
This is a very modern technique that I've noticed of late. This kind of style was seen as wrong and un-fashionable during the traditional Wells or Dickens period, but as I say is a very modern and fashionable style.
What are your views on this? Personally I think it adds a great deal of impact and can draw a reader in from the start. It can equally mean that the reader is lost from the start and finds it very difficult to get into the story. So weighing this up, is it worth this gamble?
My choice of names-
If I'm being harsh, but honest to myself, I don't have the ability to pick decent names for my characters.
Got any ideas, or methods of picking names?
The title-
I know some people think that the title doesn't really matter, but I think that it is a huge part of the story.
Do you pick it before you write and base the story around it, or do you write then think of something fitting.
Level of description-
Many years ago, I used to be irritated by excessive amounts of description, such as that in "The Railway Children". However, now I find myself putting in too much detail at times.
So how do you know how much detail to go into and at what times and what objects (in a very general sense of course).
Finally just a little note for my edification:
In titles and headers, which words have capitals. Ie. does "a" or "the", etc. start with a capital?
Thank you in advance for any contributions.
So, I'd just like to ask you guys what you think about some of these style aspects:
A direct beginning-
Without even knowing it, I seem to have naturally started using direct beginnings. Ie. the first sentence of each story is a piece of dialog that appears to be from the middle of a conversation, or a line from a story which all ready seems to have started as if the first few pages were missing.
This is a very modern technique that I've noticed of late. This kind of style was seen as wrong and un-fashionable during the traditional Wells or Dickens period, but as I say is a very modern and fashionable style.
What are your views on this? Personally I think it adds a great deal of impact and can draw a reader in from the start. It can equally mean that the reader is lost from the start and finds it very difficult to get into the story. So weighing this up, is it worth this gamble?
My choice of names-
If I'm being harsh, but honest to myself, I don't have the ability to pick decent names for my characters.
Got any ideas, or methods of picking names?
The title-
I know some people think that the title doesn't really matter, but I think that it is a huge part of the story.
Do you pick it before you write and base the story around it, or do you write then think of something fitting.
Level of description-
Many years ago, I used to be irritated by excessive amounts of description, such as that in "The Railway Children". However, now I find myself putting in too much detail at times.
So how do you know how much detail to go into and at what times and what objects (in a very general sense of course).
Finally just a little note for my edification:
In titles and headers, which words have capitals. Ie. does "a" or "the", etc. start with a capital?
Thank you in advance for any contributions.
Black Glove wrote:
> My choice of names-
>
> What I do is continuously collect names that I like. Usually unusual
> and expressive names, or a first & surname which go well
> together. Names are so important: they suggest so many things.
> "Cincinnatus C." is the mysterious prisoner in Nabokov's
> "Invitation to a Beheading" - what a brilliant and
> intriguing name. It makes the reader like him almost instantly.
:D
My last 2 names were Saphrieta Heinz and Lucile Kuznetsova.
> Level of description-
>
> I think description should be subtle and interesting. Anything
> o.t.t., obvious or bombastic is - well, annoying. Having said that,
> slipping in an outrageous adjective here and there always brightens
> things up. The same can be said for similes. I always search my brain
> for unusual and (if possible) slightly comical similes.
Exactly how I feel, which is why sometimes lately, I think that I've just put too much in. Othertimes I think that something I've done (and not to boast) is truly inspired.
Cheers.
> My choice of names-
>
> What I do is continuously collect names that I like. Usually unusual
> and expressive names, or a first & surname which go well
> together. Names are so important: they suggest so many things.
> "Cincinnatus C." is the mysterious prisoner in Nabokov's
> "Invitation to a Beheading" - what a brilliant and
> intriguing name. It makes the reader like him almost instantly.
:D
My last 2 names were Saphrieta Heinz and Lucile Kuznetsova.
> Level of description-
>
> I think description should be subtle and interesting. Anything
> o.t.t., obvious or bombastic is - well, annoying. Having said that,
> slipping in an outrageous adjective here and there always brightens
> things up. The same can be said for similes. I always search my brain
> for unusual and (if possible) slightly comical similes.
Exactly how I feel, which is why sometimes lately, I think that I've just put too much in. Othertimes I think that something I've done (and not to boast) is truly inspired.
Cheers.
Paradox: wrote:
> unfashionable isn't hypenated.
...
:)
And if it's fashionable then why not
> conform and make more genericity. If your story is the same as all
> the others then it can't be bad. Can't be good either, though.
Surely that's a bit of a non-point. Everyone wants to make their stories good and that's why I ask the opinions of you guys. Telling me how to make an average story doesn't really help now does it?
A nice thing to do is
> to think of a not-too-cliched name
I certainly do this, but sometimes they end up a little too crazy.
that fits the characters traits,
> i.e. Leo would be a good lion-tamer.
I always have problems doing this.
Otherwise get one of those
> baby-names lists of tonnes of names and scroll to a random point
> until you find something cool.
That sounds like a good idea. The creativity of hundreds of people instead of one.
> Finally just a little note for my edification:
>
> In titles and headers, which words have capitals. Ie. does
> "a" or "the", etc. start with a capital?
>
> 'a' or 'the' doesn't unless they're the first word, which is a basic
> gramatical rule. Nouns, adjectives, adverbs and verbs are generally
> what would posess a capital letter. However it hardly matters. Nobody
> checks.
I'm a pedant. So it just affects my overall confidence in a piece. I'm kinda self-conscious in that way, if you will.
Thanks for the other stuff.
> unfashionable isn't hypenated.
...
:)
And if it's fashionable then why not
> conform and make more genericity. If your story is the same as all
> the others then it can't be bad. Can't be good either, though.
Surely that's a bit of a non-point. Everyone wants to make their stories good and that's why I ask the opinions of you guys. Telling me how to make an average story doesn't really help now does it?
A nice thing to do is
> to think of a not-too-cliched name
I certainly do this, but sometimes they end up a little too crazy.
that fits the characters traits,
> i.e. Leo would be a good lion-tamer.
I always have problems doing this.
Otherwise get one of those
> baby-names lists of tonnes of names and scroll to a random point
> until you find something cool.
That sounds like a good idea. The creativity of hundreds of people instead of one.
> Finally just a little note for my edification:
>
> In titles and headers, which words have capitals. Ie. does
> "a" or "the", etc. start with a capital?
>
> 'a' or 'the' doesn't unless they're the first word, which is a basic
> gramatical rule. Nouns, adjectives, adverbs and verbs are generally
> what would posess a capital letter. However it hardly matters. Nobody
> checks.
I'm a pedant. So it just affects my overall confidence in a piece. I'm kinda self-conscious in that way, if you will.
Thanks for the other stuff.
With the names, I found it doesn't really matter what they're called. It's always a big hang up when you name a character when you're writing, but when you're reading, you never really care what they're callled as long as there's a decent personality behind it all.
Clazon wrote:
> A direct beginning-
Well I've read novels with direct beginnings, and they always tend to give the beginning a mysterious edge (even though they are direct!). The good beginning just needs to capture the essence of a strong feeling or an interesting occurrence.
> My choice of names-
What I do is continuously collect names that I like. Usually unusual and expressive names, or a first & surname which go well together. Names are so important: they suggest so many things. "Cincinnatus C." is the mysterious prisoner in Nabokov's "Invitation to a Beheading" - what a brilliant and intriguing name. It makes the reader like him almost instantly.
> The title-
I always leave the title till the story is finished, unless of course a title triggers a whole story.
> Level of description-
I think description should be subtle and interesting. Anything o.t.t., obvious or bombastic is - well, annoying. Having said that, slipping in an outrageous adjective here and there always brightens things up. The same can be said for similes. I always search my brain for unusual and (if possible) slightly comical similes.
> Finally just a little note for my edification:
Either way, really. "The Man on the Silver Mountain". "The Man On The Silver Mountain".
> A direct beginning-
Well I've read novels with direct beginnings, and they always tend to give the beginning a mysterious edge (even though they are direct!). The good beginning just needs to capture the essence of a strong feeling or an interesting occurrence.
> My choice of names-
What I do is continuously collect names that I like. Usually unusual and expressive names, or a first & surname which go well together. Names are so important: they suggest so many things. "Cincinnatus C." is the mysterious prisoner in Nabokov's "Invitation to a Beheading" - what a brilliant and intriguing name. It makes the reader like him almost instantly.
> The title-
I always leave the title till the story is finished, unless of course a title triggers a whole story.
> Level of description-
I think description should be subtle and interesting. Anything o.t.t., obvious or bombastic is - well, annoying. Having said that, slipping in an outrageous adjective here and there always brightens things up. The same can be said for similes. I always search my brain for unusual and (if possible) slightly comical similes.
> Finally just a little note for my edification:
Either way, really. "The Man on the Silver Mountain". "The Man On The Silver Mountain".
Clazon wrote:
> A direct beginning-
>
> Without even knowing it, I seem to have naturally started using
> direct beginnings. Ie. the first sentence of each story is a piece of
> dialog[ue] that appears to be from the middle of a conversation, or a
> line from a story which all ready seems to have started as if the
> first few pages were missing.
can be effective given the circumstance. Short stories don't dilly-dally and draw the reader into the proverbial 'thick of it' so this can be a good measure, however sometimes a fairytale buildup is nice too.
> This is a very modern technique that I've noticed of late. This kind
> of style was seen as wrong and un-fashionable during the traditional
> Wells or Dickens period, but as I say is a very modern and
> fashionable style.
unfashionable isn't hypenated. And if it's fashionable then why not conform and make more genericity. If your story is the same as all the others then it can't be bad. Can't be good either, though.
> What are your views on this? Personally I think it adds a great deal
> of impact and can draw a reader in from the start. It can equally
> mean that the reader is lost from the start and finds it very
> difficult to get into the story. So weighing this up, is it worth
> this gamble?
If the reader doesn't understand whats going on then do you really care what they think? They're obviously a stupid-head if they don't understand direct plot propellation.
> My choice of names-
>
> If I'm being harsh, but honest to myself, I don't have the ability to
> pick decent names for my characters.
>
> Got any ideas, or methods of picking names?
People use too many Jims, Johns, Bens and Sams - mostly because they're lazy and these names are easy to write. A nice thing to do is to think of a not-too-cliched name that fits the characters traits, i.e. Leo would be a good lion-tamer. Otherwise get one of those baby-names lists of tonnes of names and scroll to a random point until you find something cool.
> The title-
>
> I know some people think that the title doesn't really matter, but I
> think that it is a huge part of the story.
Really, it isn't. Look at some examples "The Body" by Steven King was a short story with name done-and-done again name (I know off the top of my head that there's a point horror book of the same name). The short story developed to become Stand By Me, which is a pretty funktacular film, I've got the 'Different seasons' compilation by King but haven't had chance to dip in yet. But it shows that the title isn't everything. I think novel-wise it is more important, ie "To Kill A Mockingbird" or "Confederacy of Dunces" [two books on my shelf at the minute] have rather original and intriguing names, however some short stories tend to focus on some key element of the story. The thing is that a short story tends to have one key plot and no more than 1 sub-plot, whereas a novel needs a lot of minor plots to give the key plot strength, so the name can be drawn from a lot of different elements in a novel, but with a short story you're rather limited to the events of the tale.
> Do you pick it before you write and base the story around it, or do
> you write then think of something fitting.
Never base a story on a good title, it'll never work well for you. A topic, thats effective to give you grounding, but a name, no no.
> Level of description-
>
> Many years ago, I used to be irritated by excessive amounts of
> description, such as that in "The Railway Children".
> However, now I find myself putting in too much detail at times.
Make it visual, no more, no less. For example to describe something in depth, ie a sunrise, you could say "the golden arches of light danced delicately on the distant horizon, scorching away the deep, lurching darkness and enshrouding the picturesque green-hilled and lake-filled landscape in the positive warmth of a day anew." This would be suitable perhaps to an opening to set the scene. However if you're mentioning the sunrise in a passive manner you're best limiting the description, i.e. "Mr Hickory glanced at the golden sunrise as he strode toward the Post Office" Can you see the different uses of description needed. I'd say one, maybe 2 adjectives is enough for a passive description, but go nuts when you're scene setting - it's your scene, make sure people see it how you want them to, spare nothing.
> Finally just a little note for my edification:
>
> In titles and headers, which words have capitals. Ie. does
> "a" or "the", etc. start with a capital?
'a' or 'the' doesn't unless they're the first word, which is a basic gramatical rule. Nouns, adjectives, adverbs and verbs are generally what would posess a capital letter. However it hardly matters. Nobody checks.
> A direct beginning-
>
> Without even knowing it, I seem to have naturally started using
> direct beginnings. Ie. the first sentence of each story is a piece of
> dialog[ue] that appears to be from the middle of a conversation, or a
> line from a story which all ready seems to have started as if the
> first few pages were missing.
can be effective given the circumstance. Short stories don't dilly-dally and draw the reader into the proverbial 'thick of it' so this can be a good measure, however sometimes a fairytale buildup is nice too.
> This is a very modern technique that I've noticed of late. This kind
> of style was seen as wrong and un-fashionable during the traditional
> Wells or Dickens period, but as I say is a very modern and
> fashionable style.
unfashionable isn't hypenated. And if it's fashionable then why not conform and make more genericity. If your story is the same as all the others then it can't be bad. Can't be good either, though.
> What are your views on this? Personally I think it adds a great deal
> of impact and can draw a reader in from the start. It can equally
> mean that the reader is lost from the start and finds it very
> difficult to get into the story. So weighing this up, is it worth
> this gamble?
If the reader doesn't understand whats going on then do you really care what they think? They're obviously a stupid-head if they don't understand direct plot propellation.
> My choice of names-
>
> If I'm being harsh, but honest to myself, I don't have the ability to
> pick decent names for my characters.
>
> Got any ideas, or methods of picking names?
People use too many Jims, Johns, Bens and Sams - mostly because they're lazy and these names are easy to write. A nice thing to do is to think of a not-too-cliched name that fits the characters traits, i.e. Leo would be a good lion-tamer. Otherwise get one of those baby-names lists of tonnes of names and scroll to a random point until you find something cool.
> The title-
>
> I know some people think that the title doesn't really matter, but I
> think that it is a huge part of the story.
Really, it isn't. Look at some examples "The Body" by Steven King was a short story with name done-and-done again name (I know off the top of my head that there's a point horror book of the same name). The short story developed to become Stand By Me, which is a pretty funktacular film, I've got the 'Different seasons' compilation by King but haven't had chance to dip in yet. But it shows that the title isn't everything. I think novel-wise it is more important, ie "To Kill A Mockingbird" or "Confederacy of Dunces" [two books on my shelf at the minute] have rather original and intriguing names, however some short stories tend to focus on some key element of the story. The thing is that a short story tends to have one key plot and no more than 1 sub-plot, whereas a novel needs a lot of minor plots to give the key plot strength, so the name can be drawn from a lot of different elements in a novel, but with a short story you're rather limited to the events of the tale.
> Do you pick it before you write and base the story around it, or do
> you write then think of something fitting.
Never base a story on a good title, it'll never work well for you. A topic, thats effective to give you grounding, but a name, no no.
> Level of description-
>
> Many years ago, I used to be irritated by excessive amounts of
> description, such as that in "The Railway Children".
> However, now I find myself putting in too much detail at times.
Make it visual, no more, no less. For example to describe something in depth, ie a sunrise, you could say "the golden arches of light danced delicately on the distant horizon, scorching away the deep, lurching darkness and enshrouding the picturesque green-hilled and lake-filled landscape in the positive warmth of a day anew." This would be suitable perhaps to an opening to set the scene. However if you're mentioning the sunrise in a passive manner you're best limiting the description, i.e. "Mr Hickory glanced at the golden sunrise as he strode toward the Post Office" Can you see the different uses of description needed. I'd say one, maybe 2 adjectives is enough for a passive description, but go nuts when you're scene setting - it's your scene, make sure people see it how you want them to, spare nothing.
> Finally just a little note for my edification:
>
> In titles and headers, which words have capitals. Ie. does
> "a" or "the", etc. start with a capital?
'a' or 'the' doesn't unless they're the first word, which is a basic gramatical rule. Nouns, adjectives, adverbs and verbs are generally what would posess a capital letter. However it hardly matters. Nobody checks.
Having looked over my stories of late, I appear to have developed some very strong and not particularly good idiosyncracies in my writing.
So, I'd just like to ask you guys what you think about some of these style aspects:
A direct beginning-
Without even knowing it, I seem to have naturally started using direct beginnings. Ie. the first sentence of each story is a piece of dialog that appears to be from the middle of a conversation, or a line from a story which all ready seems to have started as if the first few pages were missing.
This is a very modern technique that I've noticed of late. This kind of style was seen as wrong and un-fashionable during the traditional Wells or Dickens period, but as I say is a very modern and fashionable style.
What are your views on this? Personally I think it adds a great deal of impact and can draw a reader in from the start. It can equally mean that the reader is lost from the start and finds it very difficult to get into the story. So weighing this up, is it worth this gamble?
My choice of names-
If I'm being harsh, but honest to myself, I don't have the ability to pick decent names for my characters.
Got any ideas, or methods of picking names?
The title-
I know some people think that the title doesn't really matter, but I think that it is a huge part of the story.
Do you pick it before you write and base the story around it, or do you write then think of something fitting.
Level of description-
Many years ago, I used to be irritated by excessive amounts of description, such as that in "The Railway Children". However, now I find myself putting in too much detail at times.
So how do you know how much detail to go into and at what times and what objects (in a very general sense of course).
Finally just a little note for my edification:
In titles and headers, which words have capitals. Ie. does "a" or "the", etc. start with a capital?
Thank you in advance for any contributions.
So, I'd just like to ask you guys what you think about some of these style aspects:
A direct beginning-
Without even knowing it, I seem to have naturally started using direct beginnings. Ie. the first sentence of each story is a piece of dialog that appears to be from the middle of a conversation, or a line from a story which all ready seems to have started as if the first few pages were missing.
This is a very modern technique that I've noticed of late. This kind of style was seen as wrong and un-fashionable during the traditional Wells or Dickens period, but as I say is a very modern and fashionable style.
What are your views on this? Personally I think it adds a great deal of impact and can draw a reader in from the start. It can equally mean that the reader is lost from the start and finds it very difficult to get into the story. So weighing this up, is it worth this gamble?
My choice of names-
If I'm being harsh, but honest to myself, I don't have the ability to pick decent names for my characters.
Got any ideas, or methods of picking names?
The title-
I know some people think that the title doesn't really matter, but I think that it is a huge part of the story.
Do you pick it before you write and base the story around it, or do you write then think of something fitting.
Level of description-
Many years ago, I used to be irritated by excessive amounts of description, such as that in "The Railway Children". However, now I find myself putting in too much detail at times.
So how do you know how much detail to go into and at what times and what objects (in a very general sense of course).
Finally just a little note for my edification:
In titles and headers, which words have capitals. Ie. does "a" or "the", etc. start with a capital?
Thank you in advance for any contributions.